The standard benchmark for physical activity is 10,000 steps per day. But a new study put out by researchers from the University of Sydney — spanning more than 10 countries — found that you don’t need that many steps to boost essential health markers. (Health markers include heart disease, dementia and depressive symptoms.)
Any increase in daily steps delivers health benefits.
The study found that even small increases in daily steps are associated with significant health gains –like increasing steps from 2,000 to 4,000 per day. The study’s daily recommended target step count is 7,000, but you don’t have to log all those steps at the same time to substantially reduce the risks for many chronic diseases and adverse health outcomes.
The study found that walking 7,000 steps a day reduced the risk of death by 47%, almost exactly the same as 10,000 steps.
Correctly counting those steps is a challenge.
In my very un-professional survey of personal experiences, I’ve found that there’s a big difference in how many steps different trackers log for the same movements. Still, shooting for 7,000 steps per day is realistic… even for the average senior… like me. I figure my body can’t count and will believe whatever my brain is convinced of — in other words, any wearable that comes close to the set number is good enough.
Now you know: Elvis Presley’s cousin was paid $18,000 by the National Enquirer to secretly photograph Elvis’ corpse after his open-casket funeral. The issue went on to become the magazine’s best-selling edition ever, with a record 6.7 million copies sold.